Marron glace is the candied chestnut Turin claims as its sweet: skinless chestnuts soaked in heavy syrup for days, then wrapped in silver paper.

Marron glace, candied chestnuts, has been made at Stratta on Piazza San Carlo in Turin since 1836 and the family supplied the House of Savoy. The marrons are the larger sweet-chestnut cultivar from the Cuneo hills; the candying process takes several days of slow syrup penetration. Today they cost about 4 euros each and appear at every formal Piedmontese table for Christmas.

Where to eat Marron glace in Turin

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Make it at home

Serves 2072 hrAdvanced

Ingredients

  • 20 large fresh chestnuts (marroni), scored crosswise
  • 500g caster sugar
  • 500 ml water
  • 1 vanilla pod, split

Method

  1. Boil the chestnuts in water for 8 minutes; peel them while warm, keeping each marron whole.
  2. Make a syrup with sugar, water and vanilla; bring to a simmer.
  3. Submerge the peeled chestnuts in the warm syrup; cover, let stand 24 hours at room temperature.
  4. Day 2: bring the syrup back to a low simmer for 3 minutes; let stand 24 hours.
  5. Day 3: repeat the simmer, then lift the marrons out onto a wire rack; dry overnight in a 50 C oven with the door cracked.
  6. Wrap each marron in silver-foil paper; keep in an airtight tin.

Editor tip. Peel the marrons gently to keep them whole; broken pieces become marron glace creme rather than the canonical wrapped sweet.

Common allergens: Sulphites.